Electrode holder



- Dec. 20, 1927. 1,653,141

J. E. WOODLAND I ELECTRODE HOLDER Filed June 25; 1926 410%;1 ill/504 520214- Patented Dec. 20, 1927.

UNITED STATES JOHN E. woonnnnn, or RICHMOND HILL, NEW YonKQ ELECTRODE HOLDER.

Application filed June 23, 1926., Serial N0.,118,127;

This invention relates to electrode holders particularly for use in holding'the carbon electrodes in motion picture machines and similar apparatus.

An object of the invention is to providev a simple and eflicient holder orhol'ders which canbe readily placed on any standard machine to operate thereon without the use of any auxiliary or extra adjusting apparatus,

and which can be as easily removed whe desired.

A further object is to provide a holder or holders which can be made of simplematerial, such as cast metal, so asto reducethe cost of manufacture,and which areso constructed as to be reversible inuse, so. that their life in use is extended. 7 i

In the present operation of motionpicture machines (the usual electrode holders or carbon gripping mechanisms havebeen complicated in construction and operation and of such nature as to readily get out of order under the intense heat in the neighborhood of the arc. Furthermore, most holders which are constructed to grip the carbon are not constructed to be readily replaced, and when their contact surfaces with the carbon or electrode have become worn and crusted due to the heat, they have to be thrown away.

My invention in its general aspect comprises one or a number of castings of metal,

such as iron, adapted to be supported on pins attached to the machine adjacent the electrode, the holders provided with apertures through which the pins project. These apertures are laterally disposed relative to the substantially vertical axis of the holder so that when the holder is supported on the plus it will tend to swing laterally against the electrode to contact with the same. When a pair of holders are used and thus eccentrically hung as above mentioned, they will swing toward each other and grip the electrode therebetween. Each of these holders is provided with pin receiving apertures on both sides of the major vertical axis so that as one side of the holder becomes worn and crusted in use, the holder can readily be re moved from the pin and turned around to present the other side for contact with the electrode.

The holders are provided with suitable ventilating grooves which tend to permit plentiful passage of air along the surface of the holders to keep them cool.

They are further provided with projecting plates having suitable means thereon to receive electrical connections for the currentscarrying wire. i i a The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein Fig. 1 asa partial. SlClG elevation showing a, pair of electrodes with the holders in'place on one of them.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation Showing a pair of holders gripping an electrode thcrebetween.

Fig. 3 is asectiontaken on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the front of a holder.

Fig. 5 isa the holder.

In the preferred form of theinvention as shownin the drawing, I provide a pair of holdershaving body portions 10 of greater Width than thickness, fromwhich arms 11 and 12 extend upwardly, spaced apart. The

holders are provided with bayonetshaped slots 18 and 14: in the body portion adjacent the juncture of the arms 11 and 12. These slots are adapted to receive pins such as 15.

'These pins are mounted on a plate 16 normally associated in any well-known manner with an electrode 17 in a motion picture machine or like apparatus. The major axis of each holder is vertical therethrough midway between the slots 13 and 14. The lateral faces of the holdersare provided with slight concavities such as 18 and 19 adapted to bear against the curved side of the electrode 17.

The lower part of the body portions 10 are provided with projecting plates 20 having an aperture 21 at the bottom to receive electrical connections. The arms 11 and 12 are provided with grooves such as 22 and 23, and the back of the body portions are provided with grooves 24 and 25. 'inese are ventilating grooves to permit a free circula tion of air around the surface of the holders.

perspective view of the rear of The body portions are also provided with ventilating holes such as 26 and 27.

In the operation of the device the holders i As the heat of the arc and the electrodes burns and crusts the sides of the holders they can be readily removed from the pins and reversed so as to present their other lateral faces in contact with the electrode. Thus the electrodes are properly gripped in accordance with the weight and dimensions of the holders without the use of any auxiliary adjusting apparatus, and the life of the holders is considerably extended by reason of their reversibility. They are preferably made of cast metal so that their cost is extremely low.

It is understood of course that variations can be made in the construction and arrangement of the parts and in the character of the materials used without departing from the spirit of the invention. Furthermore, it is not thought necessary to indicate more in detail than as shown in the drawings, the particular association of the holders and the plate 16 with the motion picture machine, since this association is well known and does not enter into the invention.

I claim: 1

1. In combination, a plate having an electrode receiving aperture, a pair of pins projecting from said plate on opposite sides of the vertical axis of said plate, a-pair of castings having apertures disposed on 0pposite sides of their vertical aXes, one of the apertures in each of said castings receiving one of said pins to support the castings on said plate, said castings adapted to swing by gravity toward each other and grip the e ectrode therebetween.

2. An-electrode holder comprising a plate having an electroderreceiving aperture, a pair of similarly located pins projecting from said plate, and a pair of castings having apertures adapted to receive the pins of said plate, said castings being adapted to swing by gravity toward each other and grip the electrode therebetween.

3. An electrode holder comprising a plate of heat resisting material havingan electrode-receiving aperture at an intermediate point along the vertical axis of said plate, pins projecting from said plate on either side of the vertical axis of said plate and in the same horizontal plane above the horizontal axis of said plate, a pair of electrodegripping jaws having apertures adjacent the edge and above the horizontal axis of said jaws for receiving said pins, said jaws being provided with cooperating electrode gripping grooves at a point intermediate the opposite sides of the jaws, and a projection formed upon said jaws at a point along the lower edge of each jaw adapted to serve as a handle and connecting member for electrical connections.

JOHN E. WOODLAND. 

